With hundreds of thousands of Iranians back on the streets in the opening weeks of 2026, the world is once again reminded of the uprising that shook the country in 2022.
That was the year Mahsa Amini was detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly. Witnesses reported seeing her beaten before she was taken away in a police van. Three days later, she was declared dead in a hospital. Her death ignited nationwide protests under the now-historic chant: Woman, Life, Freedom.
While the movement lost momentum by 2023 and the Iranian regime remained firmly in power, the anger never disappeared. It only simmered.
The current wave of protests is driven largely by economic collapse: runaway inflation, soaring food prices, and a rapidly depreciating currency. But beneath those pressures lies the same demand as before—freedom from an authoritarian system. As the possibility of real change feels closer than ever, the risks for speaking out remain brutally high. In Iran, resistance still comes with life-or-death consequences.
That’s what makes 021G, an Iranian rapper and singer, extraordinarily brave. Teaming up with dance collective BUGZ, she released a protest anthem that directly confronts state power fully aware of what that defiance could cost her.
Clocking in at just one minute and sixteen seconds, the untitled track is short, raw, and devastatingly powerful. Over striking visuals of BIGZ dancing, 021G declares she is not afraid of police violence. She speaks proudly of her long hair flowing down her back, a symbol of autonomy the regime has long tried to control. Most hauntingly, she says she does not fear death, as long as she dies free.
In her post accompanying the release, 021G wrote:“I am proud to support my country Iran in these revolutionary times. We stay together. We stay strong. We make history now.”
In a country where music itself can be an act of rebellion, 021G’s voice cuts through the silence not just as art, but as resistance.
Check out 021G’s video [with English subtitles] below.
